Selecting Predictor Subsets: Considering validity and adverse impact

The paper proposes a procedure for designing Pareto‐optimal selection systems considering validity, adverse impact and constraints on the number of predictors from a larger subset that can be included in an operational selection system. The procedure determines Pareto‐optimal composites of a given maximum size thereby solving the dual task of identifying the predictors that will be included in the reduced set and determining the weights with which the retained predictors will be combined to the composite predictor. Compared with earlier proposals, the simultaneous consideration of both tasks makes it possible to combine several strategies for reducing adverse impact in a single procedure. In particular, the present approach allows integrating (a) investigating a large number of possible predictors (such as multitest battery of ability tests, or a collection of ability and nonability measures); (b) explicit predictor weighting within feasible test procedures of a given limited size.     

Integrating the Differentiated: A Review of the Personal Construct Approach to Cognitive Complexity

This article reviews personal construct psychology (PCP) research on cognitive complexity. It examines conceptual foundations, measures of cognitive complexity, and a large body of empirical findings. It identifies several ambiguities in the conceptualization of the two components of cognitive complexity: differentiation and integration. These ambiguities lead to inconsistent interpretations of indexes proposed for their measurement and consequently to an inconsistent interpretation of empirical findings. The review of empirical studies identifies many valuable findings that are, however, quite fragmented. After reviewing the relevant cognitive complexity literature, suggestions for future research are discussed. In accordance with PCP's organization corollary, two different types of integration that have different relationships to the component of differentiation are identified that enable researchers to consistently distinguish various types of construing in terms of cognitive complexity and to formulate hypotheses that are open to empirical testing.     

The effects of different learning environments on students’ motivation for learning and their achievement

Background. Research in higher education on the effects of student‐centred versus lecture‐based learning environments generally does not take into account the psychological need support provided in these learning environments. From a self‐determination theory perspective, need support is important to study because it has been associated with benefits such as autonomous motivation and achievement. Aim. The purpose of the study is to investigate the effects of different learning environments on students’ motivation for learning and achievement, while taking into account the perceived need support. Sample. First‐year student teachers (N= 1,098) studying a child development course completed questionnaires assessing motivation and perceived need support. In addition, a prior knowledge test and case‐based assessment were administered. Method. A quasi‐experimental pre‐test/post‐test design was set up consisting of four learning environments: (1) lectures, (2) case‐based learning (CBL), (3) alternation of lectures and CBL, and (4) gradual implementation with lectures making way for CBL. Results. Autonomous motivation and achievement were higher in the gradually implemented CBL environment, compared to the CBL environment. Concerning achievement, two additional effects were found; students in the lecture‐based learning environment scored higher than students in the CBL environment, and students in the gradually implemented CBL environment scored higher than students in the alternated learning environment. Additionally, perceived need support was positively related to autonomous motivation, and negatively to controlled motivation. Conclusions. The study shows the importance of gradually introducing students to CBL, in terms of their autonomous motivation and achievement. Moreover, the study emphasizes the importance of perceived need support for students’ motivation.     

Growin' Grass: Paradise by the Sodium Light

This qualitative study describes members of a little-known and little-researched subculture: small-time marijuana cultivators in the United States. Couched within a symbolic interaction theoretical framework, extensive ethnographic interviews were conducted with eighteen marijuana growers who cultivate cannabis plants in their homes for small sales and personal use. This study creates a typology of growers based on motivation for growing and techniques of cultivation. The authors also illustrate how marijuana growers in this study used various techniques outlined by Sykes and Matza (1957 Sykes , Gresham M. and David Matza . 1957 . “Techniques of Neutralization: A Theory of Delinquency.” American Sociological Review 22 : 664 – 670 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to neutralize their involvement in a deviant and illegal activity.     

The Validity of Assessment Centres for the Prediction of Supervisory Performance Ratings: A meta‐analysis

The current meta‐analysis of the selection validity of assessment centres aims to update an earlier meta‐analysis of assessment centre validity. To this end, we retrieved 26 studies and 27 validity coefficients (N=5850) relating the Overall Assessment Rating (OAR) to supervisory performance ratings. The current study obtained a corrected correlation of .28 between the OAR and supervisory job performance ratings (95% confidence interval .24≤ρ≤.32). It is further suggested that this validity estimate is likely to be conservative given that assessment centre validities tend to be affected by indirect range restriction.     

Dissecting the symbolic distance effect: Comparison and priming effects in numerical and nonnumerical orders

When participants are asked to compare two stimuli, responses are slower for stimuli close to each other on the relevant dimension than for stimuli further apart. Previously, it has been proposed that this comparison distance effect originates from overlap in the representation of the stimuli. This idea is generally accepted in numerical cognition, where it is assumed that representational overlap of numbers on a mental number line accounts for the effect (e.g., Cohen Kadosh et al., 2005). In contrast, others have emphasized the role of response-related processes to explain the comparison distance effect (e.g., Banks, 1977). In the present study, numbers and letters are used to show that the comparison distance effect can be dissociated from a more direct behavioral signature of representational overlap, the priming distance effect. The implication is that a comparison distance effect does not imply representational overlap. An interpretation is given in terms of a recently proposed model of quantity comparison (Verguts, Fias, & Stevens, 2005).     

Non-ruminative processing reduces overgeneral autobiographical memory retrieval in students

It has been suggested that overgeneral memory (OGM) represents a vulnerability marker for depression [Williams, J. M. G., Barnhofer, T., Crane, C., Hermans, D., Raes, F., Watkins, E., et al. (2007). Autobiographical memory specificity and emotional disorder. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 122-148]. One important underlying mechanism involved is rumination [e.g., Watkins, E., & Teasdale, J. D. (2001). Rumination and overgeneral memory in depression: Effects of self-focus and analytic thinking. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 353-357; Watkins, E., & Teasdale, J. D. (2004). Adaptive and maladaptive self-focus in depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 82, 1-8]. It is as yet unclear to what extent the relationship between rumination and OGM also applies to nonclinical groups. The present study investigated this relationship in a nonclinical student sample, using an innovative sentence completion procedure to assess OGM. As hypothesized, the experimental induction of a concrete, process-focused (or non-ruminative) thinking style (n=102) led to less OGMs as compared to the experimental induction of an abstract, evaluative (or ruminative) thinking style (n=93). The present results add to the accumulating body of evidence that abstract, evaluative (or ruminative) thinking is a crucial underlying process of OGM, and expand prior literature by extending this idea to nonclinical individuals and by using a new procedure to assess OGM.     

Impact of Elaboration on Responding to Situational Judgment Test Items

Although faking has been identified as a potential problem in situational judgment tests (SJTs), no studies have investigated proactive approaches for controlling faking in SJTs. Therefore, this study examined the impact of elaboration on responding to SJT items. Elaboration was operationalized as reason‐giving. Two hundred and forty‐seven master students were assigned to either an honest or a fake condition, and to a non‐elaboration or an elaboration condition. Results showed that elaboration decreased the effect of faking for items with high familiarity. Elaboration on familiar items also decreased the percentage of fakers in the top of the distribution. Next, participants in the elaboration condition rated the SJT significantly higher in terms of allowing them to present themselves more realistically and to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Finally, there were no significant differences in participants' satisfaction with the SJT across the elaboration and non‐elaboration condition.